Regulated games: multi-act games

ABSTRACT

Creative multi-act games for the younger generation of casino players accustomed to creative simulation games such as “The Sims®” and familiar TV characters such as the cast of “Friends”. Stories unfold through acts that have been staged by the player by selecting and placing acting objects. A palette of betting opportunities may be provided in each act in accordance with the staged act to allow the player(s) to place bets. A typical storyboard may include three acts: (a) a construction act, (b) a testing act and (c) a destruction or resolution act. The unfolding of acts may be non-linear and several players may participate simultaneously, sharing the opportunity to affect a storyboard&#39;s direction through decision-making.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of, claims priority to and thebenefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/711,337, filed on May 13,2015, which is a continuation of, claims priority to and the benefit ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/193,351, filed on Feb. 28, 2014, nowU.S. Pat. No. 9,039,514, which is a continuation of, claims priority toand the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/184,354, filed onJul. 15, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,668,578, which is a divisional, of,claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/562,915, filed on Nov. 22, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,007,358, whichclaims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/738,812, filed on Nov. 22, 2005, the entire contentsof which are each incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever. The following notice applies to the software and dataas described below and in the drawings referred to herein: Copyright2011, IGT, All Rights Reserved.

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to the field of regulated paycomputer-controlled games, either games of skill or games of chance.

2. Description of the Prior Art and Related Information

The majority of computer games of chance such as found in casinos arebased on, or directly derived from, reel slot machines or video poker.Many of the new generation of video slot machines have captured thepublic's imagination and betting dollars by replacing the fruit andpoker symbols of the past with colorful, larger-than-life-characters andby adding new and exciting features like multi-line play, secondary gameplay, wide-area progressive jackpots and rich animation sequences. Whilegenerally not as visually appealing as the new slot machines, videopoker machines remain popular because they afford the player the abilityto use skill and decision-making to affect the game's outcome.Interestingly, despite achieving tremendous popularity in the home videogaming market, puzzle video games like Tetris®, Bejeweled®, orstrategy/construction simulation games such as SimCity®, or rolesimulation games such as the Sims®, which are also based on skill anddecision-making, have made no inroads into the casino electronic gamearena. These games are far too complex or culturally remote for slotmanagers or legacy game manufacturers to consider offering them to thecurrent generation of casino players.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an embodiment thereof, the present invention may be viewedas a pay game of chance or skill that includes a plurality of acts(e.g., two or more) consistent with a predetermined storyboard. The gameunfolds a story through acts staged by the player by selecting andplacing acting objects. A palette of betting opportunities is proposedin each act in accordance with the staged act allowing players to placebets on one or more randomly drawn events within each act.

According to further embodiments, the acts may be caused to unfoldsequentially. Alternatively, the acts may be caused to unfold in anon-sequential order. Each of the acts may be associated with a sequenceidentifier and the acts may be caused to unfold in a sequential order, anon-sequential order, a random sequence order or an order selected bythe player. Alternatively still, each of the acts may be associated witha sequence identifier and the acts may be caused to unfold in a sequenceorder consistent with a randomly drawn outcome, a bonus outcome and/or amystery outcome, for example.

The game may be played on a gaming machine coupled to a network of aplurality of other gaming machines having the same or a similar game.Each of the acts may be associated with a sequence identifier and theacts may be caused to unfold in a sequence order consistent with arandomly drawn outcome occurring on another gaming machine. Bettingopportunities may be presented, for example, via a pop-up palette or ina roll-up panel palette. Betting opportunities are preferably consistentwith the storyboard. Wager amounts to be placed on the bettingopportunities may be presented, for example, via a pop-up Palette ofChips or in a roll-up panel Palette of Chips. The Palette of Chips maybe consistent with the storyboard.

There may be at least one Palette of Betting Opportunities for each act,and each palette may represent a different theme consistent with thestoryboard. There may be at least one Palette of Chips for each Paletteof Betting Opportunities.

The storyboard may include a quest game, an adventure game, a strategygame, a role game and/or construction game, to name but a fewpossibilities.

For example, the acts may include, consistent with selected storyboardthat may include a plurality of acts such as, for example:

(a) Construction, (b) Testing and (c) Destruction;

(a) Itinerary creation, (b) Traveling and (c) Travel snags ordifficulties;

(a) Creating a relationship, (b) Living the relationship, (c)Complications affecting the relationship;

(a) Selecting players, their personality and their gaming style for a(e.g., Poker) game and (b) playing the Poker game;

(a) Establish the premise; (b) Unfold the premise, (c) Complicate thepremise, and (d) Resolution of the premise. Other acts may be developedand implemented, as the foregoing list is not intended to limit therange of possibilities falling within the scope of the presentinventions.

For example, the construction act may include an assembly of (e.g.,water) pipes from a part factory, the testing act may include a step orsteps of causing water to flow into the water pipes constructed duringthe construction act, and the destruction act may include thedestruction act may include the pipes failing through bursting byfreezing, accidental drilling through a pipe, corrosion, seal crackingand like calamities.

One or more of the acts may include a “Mystery Snag” Palette of bettingOpportunities, which may include any problem, difficulty, manmade ornatural disaster, complication and the like on which the player may pacea bet.

According to a still further embodiment, the present invention is a paygame of chance or skill that includes a plurality (i.e., two or more) ofacts in which at least one Palette (available range) of BettingOpportunities allowing placing bets on a plurality of events may beoffered for each act and in which the placed bets are played for eachact,

Accordingly, an embodiment of the present invention is acomputer-controlled game that may include a computer; at least onedisplay; a storyline that unfolds toward completion on the display(s) ascontrolled by the computer, the storyline including a plurality ofindividually selectable acts, each but a first one of the plurality ofacts being configured to build on at least one preceding act to providecontinuity between the plurality of acts; a palette of bettingopportunities, the palette of betting opportunities being configured todynamically appear on the at least one display screen within at leastone of the plurality of acts: an interface configured to enable a playerto select a betting opportunity from the palette of bettingopportunities and to enable placement of a bet on the selected bettingopportunity, and a random number generator coupled to the computer andconfigured for randomly determining an outcome related to the bet placedsubsequent to the player activating a bet command.

Game play may takes place on two grids displayed on the display(s). Afirst of the two grids may include the palette of betting opportunitiesto offer potential betting opportunities to the player. The second ofthe two grids may include a game play grid on which the storylineunfolds. The plurality of acts may include a first act, a second act anda third act and the storyline may be established in the first act,tested in the second act and resolved in the third act. The game playgrid may be fragmented in a regular or in an irregular manner. The gameplay grid may be three-dimensional. The game play grid may include aplurality of grid segments and each of the plurality of grid segmentsmay, for example, represent a province or a territory (or othergeographical or geopolitical entity) within a map.

For example, the storyline may include an unfolding of a constructionproject. The plurality of acts may include a first act, a second act anda third act and the first act of the construction project may includeestablishing the construction project, the second act of theconstruction project may include testing the construction andintroducing and overcoming construction snags and the third act of theconstruction project may include resolving the construction project. Theconstruction project may include completing a road, a pipeline, railroadtracks, wiring, a river, a labyrinth and/or an ignition cord, forexample. The storyline may include an unfolding of a constructionproject and the palette of betting opportunities may include a partsfactory. The parts factory may include project segments that are movableby the player into the game play grid to complete or improve projects.The palette of betting opportunities may include a plurality of naturalor man made calamities that may damage or destroy the constructionproject. The plurality of natural or man made calamities may include,for example, a tornado, an earthquake, an explosion, lightning and/or atsunami, for example. Each of the natural or man made calamities withinthe palette of betting opportunities may be configured to be wageredupon by the player. When the computer, with input from the random numbergenerator, determines that a natural or man made calamity upon which theplayer has wagered will damage the construction project, the player'swager may be considered a win and the player may be rewarded. Theinterface may be configured to enable the player to bet (or wager, asthe two terms are used interchangeably herein) on a selected bettingopportunity of the palette of betting opportunities by at least one of:a) touching the selected betting opportunity and pressing a bet button;b) placing an onscreen wagering (or betting, as the two terms are usedinterchangeably herein) chip on the selected betting opportunity; and c)associating a selected grid segment of the game play grid with theselected betting opportunity and pressing a bet button.

Alternatively, the storyline may include construction of at least oneconduit that must be aligned correctly to allow a liquid or an object tomove within the conduit from a predetermined source to a predetermineddestination. A game play grid may be provided on which the storylineunfolds. The game play grid may include a plurality of game play gridsegments and the conduit may be divided into a plurality of conduitsegments by the game play grid to enable the player to manipulate theconduit one conduit segment at a time. The plurality of acts may includea testing act in which the liquid or object begins advancing towards thepredetermined destination. The computer, with input from the randomnumber generator, may be configured to randomly place the conduitsegments in the game play grid and to enable the player to modify theplacement of the conduit segments in the game play grid to complete theconduit and the player may earn a reward when the liquid or objectsuccessfully advances through the completed conduit from thepredetermined source to the predetermined destination. One or more ofthe plurality of conduit segments may be faulty, which causes leakage orinefficient transportation when the conduit is completed and which maycause the player to earn a smaller reward than would be the case if noneof the plurality of conduit segments were faulty. Incorrectly aligned ormissing segments in a conduit may halt or slow down an advance of theliquid or of the object, which may cause failure of the construction ofthe conduit and the player to earn no reward. A rotate command may beprovided and configured to enable the player to rotate misalignedconduit segments in the game play grid. A draw command may be providedand configured to enable the player to replace missing or misalignedconduit segments with new conduit segments. The storyline may include aconcurrent construction of more than one conduit. The storyline may beconfigured to enable the player to attempt to fix missing or incorrectlyaligned conduit segments only within a predetermined time period. Thepredetermined time period may be determined by the time it takes anobject or liquid to travel from the predetermined source to thepredetermined destination. A published pay table may be stored in thecomputer and the interface may be further configured to enable theplayer to place side wagers on one or more designated game play gridsegments such that when a random layout of the conduit segments on thegame play grid causes a conduit segment to pass through one or more ofthe designated game play grid segments, the player's side wager may beconsidered a win and the player may be given a reward based on thepublished pay table. The interface may be further configured to enablethe player to designate game play grid segments on which to place a sidebet by selecting a side bet wager shape from a palette of a plurality ofside bet wager shapes and by applying the selected side bet wager shapeto the game play grid. The interface may be further configured to enablethe player to define new side bet wager shapes. At least one of thedisplays may be a touch screen and the interface may be furtherconfigured to enable the player to define the new side bet wager shapesby selecting a drawing tool from a palette of options and using theselected drawing tool on the touch screen to draw side bet wager shapeswithin the game play grid.

Alternatively still, the storyline may include a journey of an onscreencharacter. The plurality of acts may include at least a first act, asecond act and a third act and the first act may include a creation of atravel itinerary, the second act may include traveling on the journeyalong the created travel itinerary and overcoming travel snags (i.e.,difficulties, problems, obstacles) and the third act may include aresolution of the journey. Alternatively still, the journey may include,for example, a hero's quest and/or a military mission. The journey mayinclude an emotional journey or a creation of a relationship. Theplurality of acts may include at least a first act, a second act and athird act and the first act may include the creation of therelationship, the second act may include testing the relationship andthe third act may include resolving the relationship. For example, therelationship may be or include a romantic relationship.

Each of the plurality of acts may be associated with a unique setting(or stage, as the two terms are equivalent) that may be displayed on theat least one display. The computer may be configured to be coupled to acomputer of an other computer-controlled game to form a gaming network.The computer may be configured to be linked to the computer of the othercomputer-controlled game via a broadband connection. The interface maybe further configured to enable the player to invite a player of theother computer-controlled game to participate in the storyline.

According to another embodiment thereof, the present invention is also acomputer-controlled game. The computer controlled game may include acomputer; at least one display; at least one storyline that unfoldstoward completion as controlled by the computer, the storyline includinga plurality of acts and including a depiction of a liquid or an objectattempting to travel from a predetermined source toward a predetermineddestination through a conduit shown on the at least one display, theconduit including a plurality of conduit segments; a palette of bettingopportunities appearing on the at least one display within each of theplurality of acts; an interface configured to enable a player toselectively alter attributes of selected ones of the plurality ofconduit segments and to enable the player to select a bettingopportunity from the palette of betting opportunities and to selectivelyplace a bet on the selected betting opportunity, and a random numbergenerator coupled to the computer and configured for randomlydetermining an outcome related to the bet placed subsequent to theplayer activating a bet command.

The attributes may include a position of a conduit segment and/or anorientation of a conduit segment, for example. Game play may take placeon a first onscreen grid and/or on a second onscreen grid. The firstand/or second onscreen grids may include the palette of bettingopportunities, the palette of betting opportunities being configured tooffer a plurality of betting opportunities to the player. The firstonscreen grid may include a game play grid in which the storylineunfolds. The plurality of acts may include a first act in which thestoryline may be established, a second act in which the storyline may betested and a third act in which the storyline may be resolved. The gameplay grid may be fragmented in a regular or in an irregular manner. Thegame play grid may be three-dimensional. The game play grid may includea plurality of grid segments and each of the plurality of grid segmentsmay represent a province, state, district or a territory within a map.The storyline may include an unfolding of a conduit construction projectto construct the conduit from the plurality of conduit segments. Theplurality of acts may include a first act, a second act and a third actand the first act Of the conduit construction project may includeestablishing the conduit construction project, the second act of theconduit construction project may include testing the constructed conduitand introducing and overcoming construction snags and the third act ofthe conduit construction project may include resolving the conduitconstruction project.

The storyline may include an unfolding of a conduit construction projectand the palette of betting opportunities may include a parts factory.The parts factory may include project segments that are movable into thegame play grid to complete or improve the conduit. The palette ofbetting opportunities may include a plurality of natural or man madecalamities that may damage or destroy the conduit construction project.The plurality of natural or man made calamities may include, forexample, a tornado, an earthquake, an explosion, lightning and/or atsunami. The plurality of natural or man made calamities may beconfigured to be wagered upon by the player. When the computer, withinput from the random number generator, determines that a natural or manmade calamity upon which the player has wagered wifi damage theconstruction project, the player's wager may be considered a win and theplayer may be rewarded,

The interface may be configured to enable the player to bet on aselected betting opportunity of the palette of betting opportunities bya) touching the selected betting opportunity and pressing a bet button;b) placing an onscreen wagering chip on the selected betting opportunityand/or c) associating a selected grid segment of the game play grid withthe selected betting opportunity and pressing a bet button. Theinterface may be further configured to enable the player to manipulatethe conduit one segment conduit at a time. The plurality of acts mayinclude a test act during which the liquid or object begins advancingwithin the conduit towards the predetermined destination. The computer,with input from the random number generator, may be configured torandomly place the conduit segments in the game play grid and to enablethe player to modify the placement of the conduit segments in the gameplay grid to complete the conduit and the player may earn a reward whenthe liquid or object successfully advances through the completed conduitfrom the predetermined source to the predetermined destination. One ormore of the plurality of conduit segments may be faulty, which may causeleakage or inefficient transportation when the conduit is completed andwhich may cause the player to earn a smaller reward than would be thecase if none of the plurality of conduit segments were faulty.Incorrectly aligned or missing conduit segments may halt (or slow down)the advance of the liquid or object through the conduit, which may causefailure of the conduit and the player to earn no reward. A rotatecommand may be provided and configured to enable the player to rotatemisaligned conduit segments in the game play grid. A draw command may beprovided and configured to enable the player to replace missing ormisaligned conduit segments with new conduit segments in the game playgrid. The storyline may include a concurrent construction of more thanone conduit. The storyline may be configured to enable the player toattempt to fix missing or incorrectly aligned conduit segments withinthe game play grid only within a predetermined time period. Thepredetermined time period may be determined by the time it takes theliquid or object to travel from the predetermined source to thepredetermined destination. A published pay table may be stored in thecomputer and the interface may be further configured to enable theplayer to place side wagers on one or more designated game play gridsegments such that when a random layout of the conduit segments on thegame play grid causes a conduit segment to pass through one or more ofthe designated game play grid segments, the player's side wager may beconsidered a win and the player may be given a reward based on thepublished pay table.

The interface may be further configured to enable the player todesignate game play grid segments on which to place a side bet byselecting a side bet wager shape from a palette of a plurality of sidebet wager shapes and by applying the selected side bet wager shape tothe game play grid. The interface may be further configured to enablethe player to define new side bet wager shapes. The or each display maybe a touch screen and the interface may be further configured to enablethe player to define the new side bet wager shapes by selecting adrawing tool from a palette of options and using the selected drawingtool on the touch screen to draw side bet wager shapes within the gameplay grid. Each of the plurality of acts may be associated with a uniquesetting that may be displayed on the display(s). The computer may beconfigured to be coupled to a computer of an other computer-controlledgame to form a gaming network over, for example, a broadband connection.The interface may be further configured to enable the player to invite aplayer of the other computer-controlled game to participate in thestoryline.

According to still another embodiment, the present invention is acomputer-implemented method for providing a player with an electronicgame of chance. The method may include steps of displaying a storylinethat unfolds to completion onscreen, the storyline including a pluralityof acts and depicting a liquid or an object attempting to travel from aPredetermined source toward a predetermined destination through anonscreen conduit that includes a plurality of conduit segments laid outon a game play grid; providing a plurality of betting opportunitieswithin each of the acts; providing user interaction means to enable aplayer to selectively alter attributes of at least one of the pluralityof conduit segments, to select at least one of the plurality of bettingopportunities and to complete a bet; providing a random-numbergenerator, and controlling an unfolding of the onscreen storyline anddetermining an outcome of the bet responsive to random numbers generatedby the random number generator subsequent to the player activating abetcommand.

The attributes may include a position of a conduit segment and/or anorientation of a conduit segment, for example. A step may be carried outof laying out at least the predetermined source and the predetermineddestination on one or more of the displays prior to enabling the playerto place the bet. The method may also include enabling the player to beton whether a conduit spanning from the predetermined source to thepredetermined destination will be successfully completed. The method mayalso include a step of enabling the player to bet on whether randomlydrawing a new conduit segment from a menu of available conduit segmentswill successfully replace a missing, faulty, or incorrectly alignedconduit segment. A step of enabling the player to bet on whether aselected one of a plurality of natural or man made calamities willdamage the onscreen conduit may also be carried out, according to anembodiment of the present invention. The natural or man made calamitiesmay include, for example, a tornado, an earthquake, an explosion,lighting and/or a tsunami. The game play grid may include a plurality ofgame play grid segments and the method further may include a step ofenabling the player to place side wagers on one or more designated gameplay grid segments such that when a random layout of the conduitsegments on the game play grid causes a conduit segment to pass throughone or more of the designated game play grid segments, the player's sidewager may be considered a win and the player may be given a reward basedon a published pay table. The method may also include an animation stepthat displays changes to conduit segments that have been alteredresponsive to bets by the player and the random number generator in avisually entertaining fashion. The player may also be enabled to, forexample, rotate misaligned conduit segments. The computer-implementedmethod may further include inviting an other player of an other gamingmachine to participate in the storyline over a gaming network, the othergaming machine including a primary and a non-primary display, whereuponthe other player participates in the storyline on the non-primarydisplay while continuing to participate in an independent storyline oftheir own on the primary screen.

Still another embodiment of the present invention is acomputer-controlled game. Such a game may include a computer; at leastone display displaying liquid or an object attempting to travel from apredetermined source toward a predetermined destination through aconduit shown laid out on a game play grid, the conduit including aplurality of conduit segments; an interface configured to enable aplayer to selectively place bets on whether the conduit will be formedto fully connect the predetermined source to the predetermineddestination, and configured to enable the user to selectively alterattributes of at least one of the plurality of conduit segments, and arandom number generator coupled to the computer for determining a finallayout of the conduit on the game play grid subsequent to the playeractivating a bet command. The interface may be further configured toenable the player to alter attributes of at least selected conduitsegment within a predetermined time period. The attributes may include,for example, a position of a conduit segment and an orientation of aconduit segment. The predetermined time period may be determined by, forexample, the time it takes the object or liquid to travel from thepredetermined source to the predetermined destination.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a computer-controlledgame that includes a computer; a display; an interface coupled to thecomputer and configured to enable a player to selectively place bets onwhether a conduit to be shown on the display will enable a liquid or anobject to travel from a predetermined source to a predetermineddestination through the conduit; a random outcome generator configuredto randomly determine a layout of the conduit and displaying thedetermined layout of the conduit on the display, and to randomlydetermine an outcome subsequent to the player activating a bet command.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a storyboard of a three-act game for agaming machine, according to an embodiment of the present invention

FIG. 2 is a representative graph showing the manner in which theplayer's tension may mount over the course of a multi-act electronicgame, according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows three illustrative examples of the thematic structure ofthree multi-act electronic games, according to further embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a baseline flow within one act of a multi-actelectronic game, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary layout of an electronic multi-act game,according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows two further embodiments of the present invention, in whichthe sections are pipes or roadway sections.

FIG. 7 shows further aspects of another embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 shows further aspects of an electronic game according toembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows still further aspects of an electronic game according toembodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a “New Part” betting opportunity, accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 illustrates further aspects of an electronic game according toan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 illustration placing side bets, according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 13A illustrates the Mystery Snag Palette of Betting Opportunities,according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 13B shows further aspects of the Mystery Snag Palette of BettingOpportunities, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 shows another form of side bets, according to another embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 15 shows another example of the Virtual Lines type of side bet,according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16A shows further examples of Game Play Grids, according to furtherembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 16B shows additional examples of Game Play Grids, according tofurther embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 16C shows still further examples of Game Play Grids, according tofurther embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 16D shows additional examples of Game Play Grids, according tofurther embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 17 shows several dual display gaming machines coupled to a network,to illustrate further aspects of embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 18 shows a two player gaming machine suitable to implementembodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention include methods for providingcasinos with a multi-act class of electronic games that is based onsimple storyboards that are readily accessible to the younger generationof players. This new class of electronic games may be configured toleverage recent home video games and popular culture and may tie infamiliar games such as, for example, “SimCity®” and “The Sims®” orutilize familiar TV characters such as the cast of “Friends” or familiarfilm themes such as the “Lord of the Rings” or “Star Wars®”. Multi-actstoryboarded electronic casino videogames that combine captivatinganimations, rich selection criteria, rising tension, conflicts. “MysterySnags” and multi-line play with dynamic decision-making opportunitiesand never before offered betting options will produce an entirely newand unrivaled gaming experience.

As shown in FIG. 1, a three-act scenario or storyboard that may beimplemented in an electronic multi-act electronic game according to anembodiment of the present invention may include a first act to establishthe premise of the multi act electronic game, a second act to test theestablished premise (by introducing a difficulty, conflict or snag, forexample) and a third act that may result in a complete or partialresolution of the difficulty, conflict or snag introduced in the secondact. Variations may occur to those of skill in this art, FIG. 1 beingpresented for exemplary and non-limiting purposes only. The multi-actelectronic game according to embodiments of the present invention mayseek to engage the player, such that the player develops a vestedinterest in the premise, in the snags or difficulties that occur and theresolution thereof. Indeed, the present multi-act electronic games mayseek to increase or otherwise manipulate the player's tension, alertnessor emotions during the course of a game. As shown in FIG. 2, each act ofelectronics games according to embodiments of the present invention maybuild on the preceding act, and the player's tension may build or ebbaccording to the flow of the story presented. As shown in FIG. 2, thetension may build slowly over time at the beginning of the game, andgrow non-linearly as the game unfolds and snags are encountered. Thetension may be at least partially released toward the end of the game.

FIG. 3 shows three illustrative examples of the thematic structure ofthree multi-act electronic games, according to further embodiments ofthe present invention. Each act within a multi-act game is preferablyassociated with an act sequence number. As shown, an electronic game 302may be structured as a three-act game, including a first constructionact 304, a second act 306 in which the constructed item (e.g., road,vehicle, bridge) is tested and subjected to snags (e.g., extremeweather, earthquakes, attacks), and a third act in which the testing andsnags are resolved, as shown at 308. Similarly, the storyboard ofanother electronic game 310 may call for the creation of an itinerary ofa journey as shown at 312, a second act in which the player, theplayer's avatar or other character travels the established itinerary andencounters difficulties or snags along the way as shown at 314, andresolution (e.g., reaching or failing to reach the destination, reachingor failing to reach the object of the quest), as shown at 316. Those ofskill in this art may recognize that many other multi-act themes may beimplemented. Such themes may be taken from myths, literature, popularculture, scientific journeys of discovery, to name but a fewpossibilities. For example, the storyboard of a third electronic game318 according to an embodiment of the present invention may call for theestablishment of a relationship (between the player and a character,between two or more characters, between players on different gamingmachines playing the same game, etc.) as shown at 320, a testing of theestablished relationship (e.g., a player or character gets injured,falls in love and/or betrays the player or another character) as shownat 322, and the resolution of the conflict or test, as shown at 324.

Embodiments of the present method may also be structured around two actsor around more than three acts. For example, an electronic gameaccording to an embodiment of the present invention may be configured or“staged” as a two-act scenario, including (a) selecting “acting” players(actual or computer generated) for a Poker game and (b) playing thePoker game. Betting opportunities may include (without limitation) whichplayers will be chosen, the character and gaming style of each player,which player will win, which player will be the first to lose, how longwill the game last and how much will the winner gross, to name but a fewpossibilities. A typical four-act scenario for a game may be: (a)Establish the premise; (b) Unfold the premise, (c) Complicate thepremise, and (d) Resolution of the premise. Alternatively, “actingobjects” may be selected for staging an act wherein the objects may beconfigured and used in the performance of the act; a car and a bicyclemay be examples of acting objects.

It is to be noted that embodiments of the present invention are notlimited to two, three or four-act electronic games. Potentially, gameshaving a greater number of acts may be implemented. For example, theelectronic game may have 10, 20, 200 or an unlimited open-ended numberof acts, each of which may be associated, with an act sequence number.Indeed, the game play may be configured so as to enable players toevolve the game and influence the manner in which it unfolds, therebykeeping the game play new and fresh. Contextual game information may beperiodically saved; so as to enable the player to interrupt game playand to resume game play and the same story line at some latter time.Such contextual information may be saved on a central server, one ormultiple gaming machines coupled in a peer-to-peer network, stored on aplayer loyalty card or any combination of these. If the storyboard issufficiently complex and the game play sufficiently engaging, it isbelieved that players may become attached to the characters and developa vested interest in the eventual outcome of the story presented.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a baseline flow of steps that may be carriedout within a single act of a multi-act electronic game, according to anembodiment of the present invention. For each act, as shown at S41, thecurrent act's starting layout or stage may be displayed. As called forby S42, the starting layout may include background graphics, grids (suchas a Game Play Grid described hereunder), conduits, scenery or whateverenvironment is consistent with the storyboarded script for the currentact. The starting layout of step S42 may be the layout of the previousact. In cases wherein game play occurs on or within a grid, the grid maybe, two dimensional, three dimensional; regular, irregular and/orcomposed of insular regions, for example. As called for by step S43, theplayer may then optionally be given an opportunity to alter layoutaccording to his or her preferences, using onscreen commands. In stepS43 and/or step S44, one or more Palettes of Betting Opportunities maybe displayed, each of which may offer a category of features on whichthe player may place bets. The features may be selected in accordancewith the current staging context of the act, that is, are relevant tothe story, actors and staging of the act being displayed. Suchcategories of features may include, for example, persons, characters,events, construction parts, sources and destinations, to name but a fewpossibilities. As used herein, the phrase “Palette of BettingOpportunities” (or wagering opportunities) refers to a range ofavailable categories or items on which the player may place one or morebets. In step S44, Betting Opportunities Icons may be displayed to theuser. Each of the Betting Opportunities Icon, when selected, may cause acorresponding. Palette of Betting Opportunities to be displayed for theuser. Each Betting Opportunity Icon, therefore, may be associated with aPalette of Betting Opportunities. Such Palette of Betting Opportunitiesmay be displayed, for example, within a pop-up window or within aroll-out pane—or by other means through a suitable user interface. Ascalled for by step S45, a graphical representation of the available betsmay be displayed, depending upon the Betting Opportunities Icon selectedby the player. The available bets may be graphically represented as oneor more Chip Palette Icons. When the player selects one of the ChipPalette Icons, a Palette of Chips may be displayed. A Palette of Chips,according to an embodiment of the present invention, may include agraphical representation of available bets which, when selected, allowthe player to interactively place one or a plurality of selected chipsonto a betting opportunity. The Palette of Chips may also be displayedvia, for example, a pop-up window or a roll-out pane, for example.

Therefore, one or more Betting Opportunities Icons may be displayed onthe layout for each act and in accordance with the current stagingcontext, and each of the Betting Opportunities Icons may, when selectedby the player, cause the display of a selected Palette of BettingOpportunities. When the player selects one of the betting opportunitiesfrom the Palette of Betting Opportunities, one or more Chip PaletteIcons may be displayed. When the user selects one of the Chip PaletteIcons, a Palette of Chips may be displayed, enabling the user to placeone or more of the displaced chips onto a selected betting opportunity.Alternatively, the Betting Opportunities Icons and the Chip PaletteIcons may be dispensed with, and the Palette of Betting Opportunitiesand the Palette of Chips displayed directly, without first displayingthe Betting Opportunities Icons or Chip Palette Icons,

Betting chips representing the player's selected bet may then beassociated with any betting opportunity selected by the user, as shownat S46. Thereafter, the wager (or stake) may be calculated based uponthe chips associated with the betting opportunity and a predeterminedformula and/or pay table, as suggested at S47. The method may revert tostep S46, should the player wish to place additional bets on any otherbetting opportunities available within the displayed Palette of BettingOpportunities.

As shown at S48, players may have the option to watch his or her betsunfold one-by-one within each act, or may defer finding out whether thebets are winners or losers in order to watch the entire storyboardunfold before their eyes, with each placed bet resolving as theunderlying story unfolds. That is, a player may be given the opportunityto place all bets in each act before any of the acts unfold and watchthe results thereof like a movie, or to interactively place bets withinindividual acts and have the results of such bets revealed in apiecewise fashion, within each act. As the bets and the storyboardunfolds, rich animation, movie sequences, sounds and graphics may berendered on the gaming machine's video display(s), with appropriatesound and video effects at strategic times during the action and as betsare won and lost. For example, as developed fully herein below, thepremise of a storyboarded three act game may be to construct a pipe toenable a liquid to flow between a source and a destination. Theanimation of step S49, in that case, may include showing the liquid asit flows from the source to the destination. Some pipe sections may beshown to be initially spinning (thereby building tension andanticipation), and then shown to progressively slow down as the liquidapproaches the spinning section. If the pipe section is the correctsection and if the pipe section is oriented correctly, the spinning maystop to allow the liquid to flow therethrough (thereby releasing playertension). If the spinning pipe section was the subject of a bettingopportunity and if the player placed a bet that the spinning pipesection was indeed the correct pipe section and was oriented correctly,the player may be rewarded with a payout, according to the pay table forthis betting opportunity and the amount wagered. To add complexity, thepipe section may indeed be the correct one and be correctly oriented,yet turn out to be rusted out and leaking. This would, in turn, lowerany payout, again according to the predetermined pay table for thatbetting opportunity and the amount wagered. The quality of the pipesection may be a factor in the associated displayed representation of anoutcome amount (i.e. lower quality parts equate to a lower outcomeamount). Examples of quality factors are a leaky part, a corroded part,an undersize part, a partly obstructed part, an inferior quality part, anon genuine part, a faulty part and a damaged part.

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary layout 500 of an electronic multi-act game,according to an embodiment of the present invention. The layout 500 mayalso be referred to as a stage on which one or more of the acts of thepresent electronic multi-act game may unfold according to a storyline.Different acts may unfold on different stages or layouts 500. The layout500 may include a plurality of grid sections that collectively may bereferred to as a Game Play Grid. The grid sections need not berectangular, need not be regular and need not be contiguous. Accordingto an embodiment of the present invention, bets may be placed onselected constituent grid sections of the Game Play grid. In the exampleto be developed below, the storyboard includes one or more acts relatedto getting from a starting point 504 or source, to a destination 506. Inthe illustrative example of FIG. 5, a railroad is shown across the gridsections of the Game Play Grid 500. A Palette of Betting Opportunities510 may also be provided, which Palette of Betting Opportunities mayinclude graphical representations, in this example, of a number ofrailroad sections and optionally, one or more “Wild Card” sections. ThisPalette of Betting Opportunities 510 (called the “Parts Factory” in FIG.5) may include a range of railroad sections (in this example). As shownin FIG. 5, one of the goals of this embodiment of the present electronicgame may be to connect a source 504 to a destination 506, using therailroad sections shown in the Palette of Betting Opportunities. Theplayer may build up a predicted railroad path from the source 504 to thedestination 506 by moving selected railroad sections, section bysection, from the Palette of Betting Opportunities 510 to the Game playGrid 500. The player may select a bet from a Palette of Chips for eachor selected railroad sections moved from the Palette of BettingOpportunities to the Game Play Grid 500, representing the player's wagerthat the actual railroad section to be generated by the electronic gamewill match the predicted railroad section moved by the player from thePalette of Betting Opportunities 510 to the Game Play Gird 500. When theplayer has finished placing his or her bet(s), the player may press a“Bet” button (for example), whereupon the electronic game may generatethe actual patch of the railroad from the source 504 to the destination506. Each time a predicted railroad section matches the actual railroadsection generated by the electronic game, the player may be rewardedaccording to, his or her bet placed on that section and a predeterminedpay table. Alternatively, the player may be rewarded only if the actualrailroad matches the predicted railroad in its entirety. The Palette ofBetting Opportunities may include acting objects that may be selectedfor inclusion into an act being prepared (or staged). Acting objects maybe removed or their attributes may be modified. Examples of attributesfor a “person” acting object include, for example, hair color, eye colorand the character. Examples of attributes for a “car” acting objectinclude, for example, the model of the car and the color of the paint.

Embodiments of the present invention may include more than one Paletteof Betting Opportunities, as shown at 512. This Palette of BettingOpportunities may be called “Mystery Snags,” “Mystery Snags”, accordingto embodiments of the present invention, may include an event that maydamage, destroy or weaken a previously constructed and tested project.For example, during a liquid flow animation, a blizzard snag with verylow temperatures may be seen approaching the pipes, thus buildingtension and mystery as to whether the pipes will freeze and burst.Betting on clogged or busted pipes may be enabled through an offering ofa further Palette of Betting Opportunities.

The player may select one or more of the Mystery snags 512 and placethem on the Game Play Grid 500 and select a bet thereon from a Paletteof Chips. For example, the player may place a bet (e.g., S1, S5 or S10)that one of the Mystery Snags will appear on the fourth railroad section508. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 13, the Palette of Betting Opportunities512 may include, for example, a number of natural or man made calamitiessuch as tornadoes, lightning, a bomb or a tsunami. These Mystery Snagsare only shown for exemplary purposes, as their nature is only limitedby the imagination of the game developer. A third act may allow a playerto bet on whether the railroad section survived the Mystery Snag, forexample.

FIG. 6. Shows two further embodiments of the present invention, in whichthe sections are not railroad sections as in FIG. 5, but pipes (602) orroadway sections (604). One of the goals of these embodiments mayinclude successfully carrying a liquid within the built up pipe from thesource to the destination as shown at 602 or enabling a vehicle tosuccessfully follow the built up road from the source to thedestination, as shown at 604. More than one path may be present on theGame Play Grid, as shown in Game Play Grid 604, in which the player maybuild up two paths; one from source A to destination A and another fromsource B to destination B. Such construction-based projects may takemany forms, including but not limited to roads, wiring, pipes,labyrinths, train tracks, rivers, fuel lines, ignition cords andcorridors. In other types of storyboards, projects may take on moreabstract embodiments such as quests or emotional journeys. The MysterySnags may vary according to the form of the project. For example, one ofthe Mystery Snags for a wiring project may include a rat gnawing througha wire section or, for a river, beavers damming up a section, preventingthe water to flow therethrough.

As shown in the Game Play Grid 604 and according to a further embodimentof the present invention, the present electronic game may also generatean incomplete path from the source(s) to the destination(s) in a firstact and the user may then place bets on which section will next begenerated to complete the roadway (in this example) from the source tothe destination during a second act. For example, the player may betthat grid square 608 will change to a section that completes theroadway. Alternatively, the player may place a bet on grid square 606,betting that the straight roadway section currently appearing thereinwill change to a curved roadway section and join up with the roadwaysection appearing in grid square 610.

FIG. 7 shows further aspects of another embodiment of the presentinvention. As shown therein, after a construction first act in which thepipeline is constructed, the player may experience a second act, inwhich the constructed pipeline may be tested. For example, as shown inFIG. 7, water may be caused to flow through the constructed pipe. Someof the game's source to destination combinations may include (but arenot limited to), for example, syrup to a lumberjack's pancakes(red-brown liquid), squid ink to a pen factory (purple liquid), a beerkeg to a thirsty Viking's mouth (golden liquid), gasoline to a racecar's fuel tank (golden liquid), fountain of youth water to an agingexplorer's mouth (crystal blue liquid), intergalactic medicine to analien hospital (glowing green liquid), etc. Players may be awardedgreater rewards for completing pipelines that carry morerare/valuable/flammable liquids. The game's pipe sections may include(but are not limited to), for example, I-shapes, horizontal l's,crosses, loops, and elbow-macaroni shapes in multiple orientations. Asshown in the lower drawing of FIG. 7, when the water (or other sourcematerial) flows through a faulty pipe, section as shown at 702, leakage(inefficient transportation) of the liquid may occur. Players may beawarded smaller rewards for such inefficient transport. As shown at 704,when the water or other source material reaches a missing or incorrectlyaligned section, it will not pass through to its destination, and theplayer may not be rewarded.

FIG. 8 shows further aspects of an embodiment of the present invention.As shown, the player may place bets on which of the sections in thePalette of Betting Opportunities 510 will appear next in the Game PlayGrid. To do so, the player may select one or more chips from a Paletteof Chips 802 and place the selected chip or chips onto selected one orones of the sections of the Palette of Betting Opportunities 510.

FIG. 9 shows further aspects of an embodiment according to the presentinvention. As shown, when a section of the generated roadway ismisaligned, the player may be invited to place a bet on whether the nextiteration and regeneration of the roadway will rotate the misalignedsection 804. To do so, the player may press a Rotate button 806, whichrepresents the Palette of Betting Opportunities for this section. Inthis case, the Palette of Betting Opportunities 806 only contains asingle betting opportunity—namely, to rotate the section of roadway.After having selected the rotate betting opportunity, a Palette of Chips802 for this betting opportunity may appear, enabling the player to bet,in this case, $1, $5 or $10 that section 804 will be rotated when theroadway is next regenerated by the electronic game. In FIG. 9, theplayer has selected a $5 bet, which may then be placed (e.g., draggedand dropped) onto the misaligned section 804, as shown. After the playerhas placed his or her bet, the Bet button 808 (or functional equivalent)may be pressed. If the next iteration and regeneration of the roadwayrotates misaligned section 804, the roadway is complete and the playerwins, and may be rewarded according to the predetermined pay table andhis or her $5 bet. Various animations, graphics and/or sound effects mayfurther add to the reward and heighten the gaming experience. Forexample, the misaligned roadway on which the bet was placed may becaused to blink until the roadway is regenerated.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a “New Part” betting opportunity, accordingto an embodiment of the present invention. As shown, when a section ofthe generated railway is misaligned as shown at 1002, the player may beinvited to bet whether a new part will be the correct section of railwayto complete the railway from the source to the destination. To do so,the player may press a New Part button 1004 (or some functionalequivalent in the user interface), which may form part of the Palette ofBetting Opportunities for this section. Note that the Rotate bettingOpportunity as shown in FIG. 9 may also have been selected by theplayer. In that case, the Palette of Betting Opportunities may containtwo betting opportunities; namely, the Rotate betting opportunity andthe New Part betting opportunity. After having selected the New Partbetting opportunity, a Palette of Chips 802 (see FIG. 9) for thisbetting opportunity may appear, enabling the player to bet that section1004 will be replaced with a new part that will complete the railway—inthis case, a straight section of track. After the player has placed hisor her bet, the Bet button 808 (or functional equivalent) may bepressed. The electronic game may then trigger an animation sequenceduring which a random Number Generator (RNG) may be used to randomlyselect a new part from among the Palette of Betting Opportunities 510and to place the selected new part 1004 into the Game play Grid at theposition previously occupied by misaligned section 1002. As shown, theselected section does not successfully complete the railway and theplayer may lose his or her bet.

FIG. 11 illustrates further aspects of an electronic game according toan embodiment of the present invention. As shown, players may place asingle bet on a single project (e.g., construction of a railway,roadway, pipeline, etc.), as shown in the top drawing of FIG. 11 or mayplace multiple bets on multiple projects that may appear within the GamePlay Grid, as shown in the bottom drawing of FIG. 11.

FIG. 12 illustration placing side bets, according to an embodiment ofthe present invention. As shown, before the first act (that is, before aproject is constructed, for example), the player may place one or moreside bets. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 12, the storyboard ofthis multi-act electronic game calls for the construction of a pipeline.The player, according to a further embodiment of the present invention,may place on or more side bets to predict where one or more sections ofthe pipeline to be constructed will be laid. In the top drawing of FIG.12, the player has placed a $1 bet that the yet-to-be-constructedpipeline will go through the grid square where the player has placed hisor her bet. The middle drawing in FIG. 12 shows an instance in which theconstructed pipeline fails to pass through the grid square on which theplayer bet, whereas the bottom drawing of FIG. 12 shows an instancewhere the constructed pipeline does indeed pass through the playerpredicted grid square. The electronic game may then reward the winningplayer, according to the wager placed and a predetermined pay table,

FIG. 13A illustrates aspects of the Mystery Snag Palette of BettingOpportunities, according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown,the player may be given the opportunity to place a bet (i.e., select achip representing the desired bet from a Palette of Chips 802) on one ofthe Mystery Snags Palette of Betting Opportunities shown at 512. In theexample shown in FIG. 13A, the user has selected a chip representing a$5 bet and selected a tornado 1302 from the Palette of BettingOpportunities 512 and placed the tornado on one of the railway sections.If a tornado is randomly selected and randomly touches down on theplayer selected section of the railway in the Game Play Grid, the usermay be rewarded according to the wager placed (in this case, $5) and thepredetermined pay table. FIG. 13B shows further aspects of the MysterySnag Palette of Betting Opportunities, according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. As shown therein, other Mystery Snags such as a bombor a faulty section of railroad track may appear and damage theconstruction project when it is generated by the electronic game.Players may not be awarded for projects that are ruined by such MysterySnags.

FIG. 14 shows another form of side bets, according to another embodimentof the present invention. Virtual Lines, according to another embodimentof the present invention, is form of side betting in which the user betsthat a completed project (e.g., railway, pipeline, roadway, etc.) willpass through a variety of predicted paths, shapes and configurations onthe Game Play Grid. As show, the player may be invited to place virtuallines, elbows and circles (for example) from a Virtual Lines Palette ofBetting Opportunities 1402 on the Game Play Grid to build up, section bysection, a predicted path of the project (in the example of FIG. 14, theconstruction of a roadway). Thereafter, the player may place bets (froma Palette of Chips—not shown in FIG. 14) on one or more section of thepredicted path, as shown in the middle drawing of FIG. 14. Thereafter,the player may press the Bet button 808 (or execute some functionallysimilar action). A Random Number Generator may then be used to generatethe actual roadway, as shown in the bottom drawing of FIG. 14. Where theactual electronic game generated roadway matches the predicted path ofthe roadway built up by the player, the player may be rewarded accordingto the amount of his or her wager and the predetermined pay table. Inthe bottom drawing of FIG. 14, the player's predicted path matched theactual path generated by the electronic game on three grid squares ofthe Game Play Grid. In this case, therefore, the player may be rewardedfor having correctly predicted the actual path of the roadway for thesethree grid squares of the Game play Grid.

FIG. 15 shows another example of the Virtual Lines type of side bet,according to an embodiment of the present invention. The Virtual LinesPalette of Betting Opportunities may also include a Virtual Line DrawingTool, as shown at reference 1502. Selecting the Virtual Line DrawingTool 1502 enables the player to draw a virtual line 1504 on the GamePlay Grid. The virtual line 1504 may then represent the player-predictedpath of the construction (or other) project on the Game Play Grid,without the need to select individual virtual lines, elbows and circlesto build up a predicted path. As shown in the right hand drawing of FIG.15, the player may simply use the Virtual Line Drawing Tool 1502 to drawa virtual line 1504 on the Game Play Grid. Thereafter, the player mayplace bets on one or more of grid squares through which the virtual line1504 passes, by selected chips corresponding to the desired wager from aPalette of Chips (not shown in FIG. 15). The end result is shown in thebottom drawing of FIG. 15, in which a plurality of $1 bets have beenplaced along the virtual line 1504. Should the electronic game generatedproject include sections that coincide with the player predictedsections, the player may be awarded according to the bet placed and thepredetermined pay table.

FIG. 16A shows additional examples of Game Play Grids, according tofurther embodiments of the present invention. As shown, a Game Play Gridmay be two-dimensional and rectangular, with regularly spaced gridrectangles or squares, as shown at 1602. Alternatively, the Game PlayGrid may be two-dimensional, but include irregularly-spaced and shapedgrid sections, as shown at 1604. Alternatively still, the Game Play Gridmay be three-dimensional and based on, for example, sphericalcoordinates, as shown at 1608. Game Play Grids and projects may includecultural references, such as the construction of railroad tracks acrossthe American West for example as shown at 1610 in FIG. 16B.Alternatively still the Game Play Grid and projects may have ascientific, science fiction or fantasy bent, as is the case at 1612 inFIG. 16B, in which the project may include traveling to and/orcommunicating with a space station or alien outpost, for example.Alternatively still, the Game Play Grid and the projects carried outthereon may have historical significance or fanciful or mythicalreferences, such as shown at 1614 in FIG. 16C. For example, projects mayinclude mythical quests or the famous journeys of ancient works. GamePlay Grids and projects may even represent journeys of the imaginationor the mind, as shown at 1616 in FIG. 16D. Many other possibilitiesexist and may readily be implemented within the context of the presentinventions. The Game Play Grid, therefore, is not to be limited by theexamples shown and described herein.

FIG. 17 shows several dual display gaming machines coupled to a network,to illustrate further aspects of embodiments of the present invention.When considering gaming machines having two displays, the top screen maydisplay elements that illustrate or animate the act as it unfolds, whilethe bottom screen may allow the player to interact with the game, selecthis or her bets from the Palettes of Betting Opportunities and toactivate the bet button. One or both of the displays may display theGame Play Grid, or may display multiple Game Play Grids. Multiple gamingmachines running electronic games according to an embodiment of thepresent invention may be coupled to one another via a local and/or widearea network. Each of the gaming machines (e.g., GM1, GM2, . . . GMn)may be running the same multi-act electronic game or different multi-actelectronic games. Alternatively still one or more of the gaming machines(GM1, GM2, . . . , GMn) may be running a multi-act game according to anembodiment of the present invention, while others of the gaming machinesmay be running different (e.g., non multi-act) games altogether.Alternatively still, the gaming machines (GM1, GM2, . . . GMn) may eachbe running multi-act games that appear different, but may all be runningmulti-act games that adhere to the same storyboard. For example, asshown in FIG. 17, although each of the gaming machines appears to berunning different multi-act games (e.g., railroad tracks, roads andpipelines), each of the multi-act games may adhere to the same three actstoryboard that includes a construction first act, a testing and/or snagsecond act, followed by a third act that includes a denouerneht orresolution in which the player may be rewarded and/or informed of theresults of any pending bets.

According to further embodiments, the top screen in each gaming machinemay display elements that illustrate or animate the act as it unfolds.The act number being unfolded may be the result of a player playing inthe network of gaming machines having won a particular bet that causedthe jump to a different or higher act sequence number. In other words,other players on other gaming machines within the network of gamingmachines may influence the sequence with which the acts unfold and/orother aspects of game play. The other players in the network of gamingmachines may then be invited to join the act currently unfolding andplace bets on the betting opportunities offered by that act, therebycreating an ad-hoc community of players on adjacent or nearby gamingmachines. For example, assuming that the network of gaming machines (ora bank of gaming machines within the network of gaming machines) offersa quest game to be played on all the gaming machines in the bank, andthat a player wins a prize that, in addition to credits, awards him orher the mystery bonus “Magic Sword”, the story may then jump to an actentitled “Fight The Dragon.” All the top screens in the bank may thendisplay an animated dragon fight as shown in FIG. 17, thus invitingother players to join and try to place bets on the betting opportunitiesrelated to that dragon fight act, hoping to be the or a winner of thatact by predicting and placing a bet on which event will eventually causethe death of the dragon (or the knight). Consequently, the quest maymove from act to act according to randomly selected winnings for betsplaced by players in the banks of gaming machines, thus giving theplayers the impression that they are controlling the unfolding of thequest or giving them an urge to play more or longer in order to have agreater chance of controlling the quest's direction.

Multi-act games may be provided, as shown in FIG. 18 that are optimizedfor two players. Such two player games may require input from bothplayers to cause the game to progress through the storyboard and/or maypit the two players against each other.

The network of gaming machines (or a bank of gaming machines within thenetwork) may be configured to receive software downloads from a peergaming machine in the network and/or from a central server also coupledto the network. Methods and systems for doing so are disclosed in theco-pending and commonly assigned US patent application entitledUniversal Game Server, Ser. No. 10/656,631 filed on Sep. 4, 2003,attorney reference CYBS5872 and in the co-pending and commonly assignedUS patent application entitled Dynamic Configuration Of A Gaming System,Ser. No. 10/789,975 filed on Feb. 27, 2004, attorney reference CYBS5858,the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein in theirentirety. Such software downloads may include software patches, updates,updated pay tables, new acts to be inserted in the multi-act gamesavailable at the gaming machine (all subject to applicable laws andlocal gaming regulations), to identify but a few possibilities.

In order to preserve the simplicity of legacy electronic games,embodiments of the present invention may offer player-selectable levelsof complexity. For example, a player new to this class of game may electto play a Basic Mode with fewer features, uncluttered screens, and morestraight-forward game play. In the Basic Mode, the number of availablebetting opportunities may be deliberately limited, so as not to detractnovice players from the rhythm of the unfolding story. As players becomemore familiar with these Multi-Act games or desire new and greateradventures and a richer range of betting opportunities, they may chooseto select Intermediate or Advanced play modes. For example, additionalicons may be present in Intermediate and Advanced play modes, alertingthe player of the presence of additional Palettes of BettingOpportunities, each associated with predetermined pay table or tables.Such icons may be hidden or subdued in the Basic Mode of play. Differentplay modes (e.g., Basic, Intermediate or Advanced) may beplayer-selected at each act of the multi-act games according toembodiments of the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention may also include one or moresecondary games that may be embedded into the primary multi-act game.Examples of such secondary games are disclosed in co-pending andcommonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/661,844 filed onMar. 14, 2005, attorney reference number CYBS5972P, which isincorporated herein in its entirety. Such secondary games may allow theplayer to take a break from the multi-act game, play a secondary gameand return to the multi-act game at the conclusion of the secondarygame, without relinquishing his or her gaming machine and/or withoutdisturbing the flow of story unfolding.

While the foregoing detailed description has described preferredembodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that theabove description is illustrative only and not limiting of the disclosedinvention. Those of skill in this art will recognize other alternativeembodiments and all such embodiments are deemed to fall within the scopeof the present invention. Thus, the present invention should be limitedonly by the claims as set forth below.

The invention is claimed as follows:
 1. A gaming system comprising: atleast one input device; at least one display device; at least oneprocessor; and at least one memory device which stores a plurality ofinstructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, causethe at least one processor to operate with the at least one input deviceand the at least one display device to: (a) receive at least one wager,(b) determine a plurality of directional symbols, each directionalsymbol having at least one of a plurality of different input directionsand at least one of a plurality of different output directions, whereinat least one of the input directions is compatible with at least one ofthe output directions and at least one of the input directions isincompatible with at least one of the output directions, (c) displayeach of the determined directional symbols, and (d) for each of at leastone starting position: (i) determine a quantity of any adjacentcompatible directional symbols in any sets of symbols associated withthe starting position, the determination of the quantity being based, atleast in part, on if at least one input direction of at least one of thedisplayed directional symbols is compatible with at least one outputdirection of at least another one of the displayed directional symbols,and (ii) if a designated quantity of any adjacent compatible directionalsymbols is determined: (A) determine an award associated with thedesignated quantity, and (B) display the determined award associatedwith the designated quantity.
 2. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein adetermination of if at least two adjacent directional symbols arecompatible is based on whether the output direction of a firstdirectional symbol generated at a first symbol display position iscompatible with the input direction of a second directional symbolgenerated at a second symbol display position, the second symbol displayposition being adjacent to the first symbol display position andindicated by the output direction of the first directional symbol. 3.The gaming system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the directionalsymbols has at least one of: a plurality of the different inputdirections and a plurality of the different output directions.
 4. Thegaming system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the directionalsymbols is associated with a modifier.
 5. The gaming system of claim 1,wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality ofinstructions cause the at least one processor to randomly determine aplurality of the directional symbols at a plurality of symbol displaypositions.
 6. The gaming system of claim 1, which includes a housing,and a plurality of input devices supported by the housing, saidplurality of input devices including: (i) an acceptor, and (ii) acashout device, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, theplurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operatewith the plurality of input devices to: if a physical item is receivedvia the acceptor, establish a credit balance based, at least in part, ona monetary value associated with the received physical item, and if acashout input is received via the cashout device, cause an initiation ofany payout associated with the credit balance.
 7. A gaming systemcomprising: at least one input device; at least one display device; atleast one processor; and at least one memory device which stores aplurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least oneprocessor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at leastone input device and the at least one display device to: (a) receive atleast one wager, (b) determine a plurality of directional symbols, eachdirectional symbol having at least one of a plurality of different inputdirections and at least one of a plurality of different outputdirections, wherein at least one of the input directions is compatiblewith at least one of the output directions and at least one of the inputdirections is incompatible with at least one of the output directions,(c) display each of the determined directional symbols, and (d) for eachof at least one starting position: (i) determine if a set of at leasttwo compatible directional symbols is formed, the determination based onif at least one input direction of at least one of the displayeddirectional symbols is compatible with at least one output direction ofat least another one of the displayed directional symbols, and (ii) ifthe set of at least two compatible directional symbols is formed: (A)determine an award associated with the formed set of at least twocompatible directional symbols, the award based, at least in part, on aquantity of compatible directional symbols of the formed set, and (B)display the determined award.
 8. The gaming system of claim 7, whereinat least one determination of if any sets of at least two compatibledirectional symbols are formed is based on whether the output directionof a first directional symbol generated at a first symbol displayposition is compatible with the input direction of a second directionalsymbol generated at a second symbol display position, the second symboldisplay position being adjacent to the first symbol display position andindicated by the output direction of the first directional symbol. 9.The gaming system of claim 7, wherein at least one of the directionalsymbols has at least one of: a plurality of the different inputdirections and a plurality of the different output directions.
 10. Thegaming system of claim 7, wherein at least one of the directionalsymbols is associated with a modifier.
 11. The gaming system of claim 7,wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality ofinstructions cause the at least one processor to randomly determine aplurality of the directional symbols at a plurality of symbol displaypositions.
 12. The gaming system of claim 7, which includes a housing,and a plurality of input devices supported by the housing, saidplurality of input devices including: (i) an acceptor, and (ii) acashout device, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, theplurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operatewith the plurality of input devices to: if a physical item is receivedvia the acceptor, establish a credit balance based, at least in part, ona monetary value associated with the received physical item, and if acashout input is received via the cashout device, cause an initiation ofany payout associated with the credit balance.
 13. A gaming systemserver comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memorydevice which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed bythe at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: (a)receive data associated with a placement of at least one wager, (b)determine a plurality of directional symbols, each directional symbolhaving at least one of a plurality of different input directions and atleast one of a plurality of different output directions, wherein atleast one of the input directions is compatible with at least one of theoutput directions and at least one of the input directions isincompatible with at least one of the output directions, (c) cause atleast one display device to display each of the determined directionalsymbols, and (d) for each of at least one starting position: (i)determine a quantity of any adjacent compatible directional symbols inany sets of symbols associated with the starting position, thedetermination of the quantity being based, at least in part, on if atleast one input direction of at least one of the displayed directionalsymbols is compatible with at least one output direction of at leastanother one of the displayed directional symbols, and (ii) if adesignated quantity of any adjacent compatible directional symbols isdetermined: (A) determine an award associated with the designatedquantity, and (B) cause the at least one display device to display thedetermined award associated with the designated quantity.
 14. The gamingsystem server of claim 13, wherein a determination of if at least twoadjacent directional symbols are compatible is based on whether theoutput direction of a first directional symbol generated at a firstsymbol display position is compatible with the input direction of asecond directional symbol generated at a second symbol display position,the second symbol display position being adjacent to the first symboldisplay position and indicated by the output direction of the firstdirectional symbol.
 15. The gaming system server of claim 13, wherein atleast one of the directional symbols has at least one of: a plurality ofthe different input directions and a plurality of the different outputdirections.
 16. The gaming system server of claim 13, wherein at leastone of the directional symbols is associated with a modifier.
 17. Thegaming system server of claim 13, wherein when executed by the at leastone processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least oneprocessor to randomly determine a plurality of the directional symbolsat a plurality of symbol display positions.
 18. The gaming system serverof claim 13, wherein any determined award causes an increase of a creditbalance which is increasable via an acceptor of a physical itemassociated with a monetary value, and decreasable via a cashout device.19. A gaming system server comprising: at least one processor; and atleast one memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, whichwhen executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least oneprocessor to: (a) receive data associated with a placement of at leastone wager, (b) determine a plurality of directional symbols, eachdirectional symbol having at least one of a plurality of different inputdirections and at least one of a plurality of different outputdirections, wherein at least one of the input directions is compatiblewith at least one of the output directions and at least one of the inputdirections is incompatible with at least one of the output directions,(c) cause at least one display device to display each of the determineddirectional symbols, and (d) for each of at least one starting position:(i) determine if a set of at least two compatible directional symbols isformed, the determination based on if at least one input direction of atleast one of the displayed directional symbols is compatible with atleast one output direction of at least another one of the displayeddirectional symbols, and (ii) if the set of at least two compatibledirectional symbols is formed: (A) determine an award associated withthe formed set of at least two compatible directional symbols, the awardbased, at least in part, on a quantity of compatible directional symbolsof the formed set, and (B) cause the at least one display device todisplay the determined award.
 20. The gaming system server of claim 19,wherein at least one determination of if any sets of at least twocompatible directional symbols are formed is based on whether the outputdirection of a first directional symbol generated at a first symboldisplay position is compatible with the input direction of a seconddirectional symbol generated at a second symbol display position, thesecond symbol display position being adjacent to the first symboldisplay position and indicated by the output direction of the firstdirectional symbol.
 21. The gaming system server of claim 19, wherein atleast one of the directional symbols has at least one of: a plurality ofthe different input directions and a plurality of the different outputdirections.
 22. The gaming system server of claim 19, wherein at leastone of the directional symbols is associated with a modifier.
 23. Thegaming system server of claim 19, wherein when executed by the at leastone processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least oneprocessor to randomly determine a plurality of the directional symbolsat a plurality of symbol display positions.
 24. The gaming system serverof claim 19, wherein any determined award causes an increase of a creditbalance which is increasable via an acceptor of a physical itemassociated with a monetary value, and decreasable via a cashout device.